Tag: 2023 NFL draft

Report: Andy Dalton signing with Saints could jeopardize 2023 comp pick

Report: Andy Dalton signing with the Saints could jeopardize their 2023 compensatory draft pick for Terron Armstead

Oh, come on. There isn’t much to complain about in the New Orleans Saints signing Andy Dalton — but losing a valuable third-round compensatory pick in the 2023 NFL draft to add him could be disastrous. And that’s the scenario outlined by Over The Cap’s Nick Korte, who specializes in projecting the league’s annual comp pick distributions.

Before signing Dalton, the Saints were projected to receive one of the highest-valued comp picks in 2023 after losing standout left tackle Terron Armstead to the Miami Dolphins on a pricey free agent contract. But only teams that have lost more qualifying players (those signed above roughly $3 million or more) factor into the equation, and Dalton landing in New Orleans balances the scales to where that Armstead comp pick is now out of reach.

It doesn’t matter that Dalton’s $3 million per-year average is dwarfed by the $15 million per-year that Armstead is bringing in. Because both players meet the threshold, they both count, and they cancel each other out for New Orleans. Giving up a top-100 draft pick for Dalton would be malpractice. Hopefully the Saints are aware of this; they’ve navigated the comp pick formula carefully over the last few years, managing to add a couple of extra draft picks that have been put to good use.

The good news is that another shoe could drop here. If the Saints lose a free agent like Kwon Alexander or P.J. Williams on a contract that’s comparable to what Dalton costs, the scales would tip back the other way and they could recoup that expected third rounder for Armstead in 2023. But there’s no promise of that happening. New Orleans is just as likely to re-sign each player themselves, retaining the depth and playmaking ability they bring, which wouldn’t factor into the comp pick formula.

Plus, it’s possible that Korte is wrong. He’s put in a lot of work over the years to reverse engineer the NFL’s comp pick formula, which the league oddly protects like it’s a state secret. But he ultimately only deals in projections based off public information. This year he projected the Saints to receive a fourth round pick for Trey Hendrickson and a sixth rounder for Sheldon Rankins. Instead, the NFL awarded New Orleans a third round pick for Hendrickson and said Rankins’ departure was outweighed by the addition of Tanoh Kpassagnon. Maybe the league decides that the Saints losing Trevor Siemian on a $2 million per-year deal (to Chicago, ironically) balances out the Dalton signing at $3 million. We won’t know for sure until next year.

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Texans should follow the Giants’ lead with their extra first-round pick

The Houston Texans have an extra first-round pick and ought to take a page out of the New York Giants’ playbook and convert it into 2023 capital.

The Houston Texans’ rebuild may not be completed in the 2022 offseason; just take a look at how average the club was with its free agent signings.

With Davis Mills entrenched as the starting quarterback and a bevy of holes still evident on the roster, the Texans may be more “process oriented” in 2022 than they would like.

The Texans took a significant step in their rebuild by dealing quarterback Deshaun Watson to the Cleveland Browns. With an extra first-round pick in the 2022-24 NFL drafts, the Texans have enough capital to acquire impactful talent whether by trades or in the draft itself.

However, the Texans shouldn’t just be content to use their first-round picks. Houston ought to take a page from the New York Giants.

According to Patrik Walker from CBS Sports, the Giants are entertaining the notion of trading one of their three first-round picks in the 2022 NFL draft for a first-rounder in next year’s draft.

To that end, they’re reportedly open to trading one of their 2022 first-round picks in exchange for one in 2023, per SNY, with Schoen not completely sold on this year’s crop of quarterbacks but having come to terms with the reality Jones might not be the answer. As it stands, the Giants own both the fifth- and seventh-overall pick in this year’s draft, and that’s premium real estate for any team who feels the top prospect on their board may not make it out of the top-10.

If the Texans aren’t able to execute a trade down with their No. 13 overall pick, why not look at trading way back into 2023? Houston would have three first-round picks for next year, which would be enough capital to either go all the way to the top to take a presumptive franchise quarterback prospect, or put together an impressive package to fill roster holes with playmakers.

The Watson trade gave the Texans extra picks, and general manager Nick Caserio ought to look for ways to turn that into generational wealth and keep Houston picking multiple times in the top-100, regardless of how the team actually finishes the season.

Dates set for 2023 NFL draft in Kansas City

See when the 2023 NFL draft will take place in Kansas City

The 2023 NFL draft will take place in Kansas City, and now we know exactly when.

The home city of the Chiefs will host the 2023 event April 27th through the 29th, the team announced Thursday.

This year’s draft will be held in Las Vegas.

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Dates set for 2023 NFL draft in Kansas City

Kansas City is hosting the 2023 NFL draft and we now know exactly when and where that will be:

The NFL has officially confirmed the dates of the 2023 NFL draft, which will be hosted in Kansas City.

The 2023 NFL Draft, which will be presented by Bud Light is set to take place on April 27 – 29, 2023 in the area surrounding Union Station and the National World War I Museum and Memorial. Chiefs fans will know the area well from the Super Bowl LIV parade. This will be the first time that Kansas City has ever played host to the NFL draft.

“This will be one of the biggest and most-anticipated professional sporting events our city has hosted,” President and CEO of the Kansas City Sports Commission and Visit KC, Kathy Nelson, said via press release. “Not only will fans from around the country be traveling to experience the NFL Draft and NFL Draft Experience, but millions of viewers will see Kansas City in the national spotlight on NFL Network, ESPN and other major networks.”

As usual, the NFL Draft Experience will be part of the event throughout the three days of the 2023 NFL draft. It’s essentially an NFL football-themed theme park with tons of events, interactive exhibits, autograph opportunities and more.

“Kansas City’s internationally recognized passion for sports makes it an ideal host for the NFL Draft,” NFL Executive Vice President of Club Business & League Events, Peter O’Reilly, said via press release. “We know that our partners, including the Kansas City Chiefs, City of Kansas City, Kansas City Sports Commission and Visit KC, will create a one-of-a-kind experience for our fans as we welcome the next generation of NFL players.”

The Chiefs are set to have ten picks in the 2023 NFL draft following the trade of star WR Tyreek Hill. The team could ultimately have more picks when it’s all said and done, depending on whether they receive any more compensatory picks in 2023.

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Seahawks: 4 takeaways from Pete Carroll’s Tuesday radio call with ESPN

Naturally, the major topic to come up was the recent Russell Wilson trade,

Seahawks coach Pete Carroll called into ESPN for his regular radio bit today.

Here are a few takeaways from that conversation from those beat reporters that tuned in.

Giants looking to turn 2022 draft capital into 2023 draft capital?

Could the New York Giants be angling to trade 2022 NFL draft capital for additional 2023 NFL draft capital?

Last year, when the New York Giants traded back in the 2021 NFL draft, the move gave Big Blue some extra draft capital. Most notably, they acquired a 2022 first-round pick from the Chicago Bears, who ended up selecting quarterback Justin Fields in the Giants’ original spot.

Going into the 2021 season, neither the Bears nor the Giants had high expectations. Many believed they would be among the NFL’s worst teams, leaving New York with two top-10 picks.

That turned out to be the case.

Now, with the Giants selecting fifth and seventh overall with a new regime in place, their April decisions may be the most crucial in recent memory. But what if they don’t make both picks?

Peter King of Football Morning in America thinks the Giants may be looking at a trade to acquire additional capital for the 2023 NFL draft — one that promises a deep pool of prospects at potential positions of need.

The Giants, picking fifth and seventh overall, are likely to look to move one of them to try for multiple first-rounders next year.

With the roster far from ready to compete, acquiring future draft capital may be in New York’s best interest. This may also be a reason for the Giants have been rumored to have James Bradberry and Saquon Barkley on the trading block.

While the Giants may benefit from the idea of trading back for future draft capital, the way this offseason has shaped up has two teams picking ahead of them all the sudden in the market for a quarterback.

If greater talent drops to the Giants due to quarterbacks unexpectedly going ahead of their picks, it may be more difficult to part ways with either of those picks.

With so many needs on the Giants’ roster, certainly they can use two promising players taken at the five and seven spots. However, there might be value in trading back to acquire more draft capital in the 2023 draft where the Giants will hopefully be closer to competing.

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Texans trade 2023 sixth-round pick for Jets LB Blake Cashman

The Houston Texans traded a 2023 sixth-round pick to the New York Jets for linebacker Blake Cashman.

One of the strategies of general manager Nick Caserio with his acquisition of draft picks is to role the dice on some of the underrated veterans across NFL rosters.

Case in point: the Houston Texans traded a 2023 sixth-round pick to the New York Jets for linebacker Blake Cashman. The Texans were able to make the trade thanks to the compensation the franchise received in shipping defensive end Charles Omenihu to the San Francisco 49ers.

Cashman has only played in 14 games in his NFL career, starting in seven of them. The former 2019 fifth-round pick from Minnesota collected 49 combined tackles, three tackles for loss, three quarterback hits, a half-sack, a pass breakup, and a fumble recovery. Cashman has played 463 defensive snaps compared to 143 on special teams.

Status update on future Saints draft picks, from 2022 to 2025

The Saints have plenty of draft picks to work with over the next couple years, whether they want to trade for Deshaun Watson or reload their depth chart:

It’s, ah, a timely decision to brush up on the New Orleans Saints’ future draft picks right now. Houston Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson could make a decision at any moment on which team he’ll waive his no-trade clause for — whether that’s the Saints themselves or their heated rivals, the Atlanta Falcons. And one of those teams is going to give up a king’s ransom of draft picks and young starters for their new franchise quarterback.

New Orleans at least has picks to spare. They’ve only parted ways with three of their next 26 selections, stretching out from 2022 to 2025. NFL rules dictate that you can only deal out your picks in the next three draft cycles beyond the current year, which is why the Saints sent out the least-valuable asset possible late during the 2021 season for running back Mark Ingram II (a 2024 seventh rounder).

If the Saints are determined to win Watson over, and everything they’ve done over the last week suggests they are, despite the considerable baggage he brings with him, at least they will still have ample draft picks to fall back on. For now, here is when and where New Orleans expects to make its next draft selections:

Saints project to receive mid-round comp pick in 2023 for Marcus Williams

It could change in a hurry, but the Saints project to receive a mid-round comp pick in 2023 after letting Marcus Williams go:

This isn’t much of a silver lining, but it’s something. Marcus Williams agreeing to leave the New Orleans Saints on a five-year contract with the Baltimore Ravens in free agency could return a compensatory draft pick in 2023, depending on how the team’s other moves shake out.

It isn’t something to bank on too seriously just yet. If the Saints sign a qualifying free agent of their own (someone who has unrestricted status, and whose contract expired without them being released from it) to a similar value, that could negate a possible pick rewarded for letting Williams go.

So, for example, if the Saints sign pending free agent safety Tyrann Mathieu to a contract averaging $14 million per year then they wouldn’t qualify for a compensatory pick next year. But if they sign recently-cut wide receiver Jarvis Landry to a contract at the same average annual value, they would still project to get that extra selection.

Free agency hasn’t even legally kicked off yet, and the Saints have several other players who could return comp picks if they leave. And there are players New Orleans could sign that put any possible comp picks in jeopardy. But which round could fans expect a comp pick for Williams to slot in at?

A fourth rounder feels most likely (the highest compensatory pick allowed is a third rounder), given recent history. The Saints are expected to receive a compensatory fourth round pick in the 2022 NFL draft after losing defensive end Trey Hendrickson last offseason. Hendrickson signed a contract averaging $15 million per year, which is slightly above what Williams is getting.

That’s the bigger part of the equation. But comp picks are also determined by how often those players were getting on the field with their past team. In this case, Hendrickson was a part-time player; he only saw 500-plus snaps once with New Orleans, so that dropped his value quite a bit in the comp pick formula. Compare that to Williams, who has played 900 or more snaps in four of five seasons (dropping to just 880 snaps in 2020). It’s very possible the scales could tip the other way and send New Orleans a third rounder in 2023.

So that’s our best guess: expect a compensatory fourth rounder (which would fall in the 130’s), but hope for a third (in the 100 to 105 range). Maybe they surprise us. Keep in mind that this could all change in a hurry once the Saints start signing other free agents. If they add more qualifying players than they lose, regardless of their contract value, they won’t earn any comp picks at all.

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Looking at Texas’ potential 2023 NFL draft prospects

Texas could have a plethora of players drafted in 2023, unlike what is expected in 2022.

With the 2022 NFL draft approaching, and Texas having just a couple players with a chance of being drafted, it is the perfect time to look at the current roster and identify future draft picks.

The Longhorns struggled greatly in the first season under Steve Sarkisian, and while the blame can be passed around to practically everyone, Texas just did not have a good year. There were only two bright spots on the season, with both Xavier Worthy and Bijan Robinson doing their best to carry the team.

Looking at the roster for the 2022 season, the staff has added a ton of talent all over the board that will likely boost the stock of some players, or in the case of a couple of the transfers, give themselves a bigger platform to go to the NFL.

As it sits right now, Texas has two players in Robinson and linebacker DeMarvion Overhsown that are a lock to be drafted in 2023, but that does not mean some of these other players aren’t on the radar.

Let’s take a look at the players who have a prime opportunity to increase their draft stock in 2022. Honorable mentions are Anthony Cook, Alfred Collins, Jahleel Billingsley.